Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Eduvision Youth Empowerment Center

When I left Nigeria for South Africa in July, 2009, Eduvision's computer training center was just being completed...we'd signed up our first students & were giving classes on about 10 or so donated PCs...

Since then, the project has grown significantly with the hiring of 4 teachers & the submission of 45+ students per term...we've also added on 2 outside school programs, with children from neighboring government schools receiving free IT classes as well...

Development on the structure continues with the addition of an entire new wing of at least 6 classrooms, with another office, hall & lecture room...expansion is currently underway & commences as sponsorship (funds) allow...

the week before last I went to the project site to review the progress & survey the current development......here's what I found:


signs of progress


 Matthias & friend fiddling with Corel Draw

 Brian Whyte needs IT input...

 selfie
 new students signing up..

students learn on donated computers


 teacher & student

new & existing centers

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Pray for Nigeria...

Africa is at once the most romantic & tragic of continents...There are those, nevertheless, who would write universal history & leave out Africa...        --W.E.B. Dubois

Thinking specifically of the first part of the above quote, I've seen this to be true throughout my entire time in Africa & Nigeria is no exception to this adage...I pray for Africa's future...that she will eventually faze out the tragedy & let the romance thrive...

Over the last years Nigerians have had to deal with economic downturn, frustrations in development & the distribution of profit from Nigeria's rich resources, major widespread acts of terrorism by sources known/unknown & suspected throughout the country--particularly in the North--resulting in the loss of thousands of lives...It's amazing how much has transpired during the 4 years I was away...yet none of my friends have changed...they still beam with the same joy, strength, resilience & resolve they did when I last saw them 4 years ago...The character & spirit that is brought out through all their challenges is what I'll always admire about Africa the most...

The other day a few of us had dinner at a hotel in Area 11 that happens to be owned by a retired general & former minister who's also been a friend & supporter of our mission here in Nigeria for more than 15 years...This remarkable man is also a talented author & has penned an autobiography & several economic & political works as well...General Momah was kind enough to give me a signed copy of his latest book titled 'Nigeria Beyond Divorce', which I've since been going through over this long holiday weekend. It's incredibly informative & well put-together. This book covers in detail the history of Nigeria & constitutional structure formed by Nigeria over the last century from the precolonial days till now. With the recent terrorist activities in the North carried out by the Boko Haram group, the election campaign for a new president starting next year & the political climate continuously changing, General Momah implores the people (specifically the government) of Nigeria to reform in anyway necessary to bring the country forward into the next faze of growth & progress that Nigeria deserves...

I'm enjoying it so far...

I'm not sure if there's an online purchase option for this book available (yet), but below is a little resource information on the book, in case anyone here in Africa (or abroad) may want to look into ordering a copy...

Nigeria Beyond Divorce
Published by Safari Books Ltd
ILE ORI DETU
1, Shell Close
Onireke, Ibadan.
e-mail: safarinigeria@gmail.com






I pray for Nigeria's future...I hope you will join me in praying for Nigeria as well...

Saturday, August 03, 2013

BIA (Back In Africa)--week 1

Africa. Thundrous energy & vibrant color. Dense brush & intense heat. A love of mine for more than a decade. My hobby. My passion. My home. It's been interesting being back in Africa after 3 years & back in Nigeria after 4...almost immediately in landing I experienced a flood of memories in seeing Abuja again (all good, thankfully, yet stepping back in time always seems awkward)...There's some emotion involved in remembering all that you did, who you did it with, & especially in thinking about what you may have done differently if given the chance to do it again...

On a practical note, I think for the first time in 13 years I had a small culture shock when coming back to Africa...After spending significant time living & working in the U.S. with it's every convenience, development & efficiency, Africa is immediately made to look noticeably the simple 3rd world station it is...You couldn't have 2 worlds more opposite, but I'm also finding similarities in the 2, as Abuja continues to develop...which is another thing I noticed also immediately when arriving on Wednesday: changes in infrastructure & roads, etc. throughout the city as we drove in from the airport, some parts having digressed slightly & a myriad of new structures & improvements were the more apparant..

I wasted no time in diving head first into the culture (although my welcome meal was dinner at an Indian restaurant :P) & within my first 2 days I was here I had:

--witnessed a traditional/cultural/religious event put on by dignitaries & representatives from the Catholic Church here in Abuja...

--drank my first Chapman in 4 years (a traditional Nigerian spin on Soda (pop) with a mix of Sprite/Fanta/Grenadine & a cucumber slice (very important))..

--while being hosted at the home of a dear friend, ate a delicious, fiery meal of Garri (Kasava meal) & vegetable soup with curried chicken...the first bite knocked my socks off, but after that it was like "I'm back" & I ate the whole portion brought to me..thankfully my stomach "remembered" the ol' days & didn't fight me on any of the new-old foods I was giving it to work on....

...not bad for 2 days in...pics follow (low quality due to internet speed (or lack thereof)...





Wednesday, March 06, 2013

Fulani boy dreams about Jesus

Just watched the awesomest Hausa movie/documentary on youtube about a man who Jesus kept appearing to in a series of dreams. Check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuLMVzGMpc0

It's fascinating how the Gospel of God can relate to any human being whether in the middle of the Fulani forest, or in the middle of New York city...

God is something else entirely & the measure of His Love is beyond amazing...

This story could change your life...

Enjoy!

Friday, February 08, 2013

last sneak-peak...


these get longer & longer each time...take in bite-size readings, if you have to...enjoy the last part of the unedited  preview of my book...
Assisting eye-surgery--Obubra, Cross River State, Nigeria, March, 2000

Probably one of the most rewarding experiences of my entire life thus far…I had the honor of assisting doctor Lanre in the surgical procedure of removing cataracts from patient’s eyes during what was to be my first "medical mission" with Family Care Nigeria….I know, it sounds highly impressive… No, “doctor Whyte” did not administer the anesthetic, nor hold the scalpel or make an incision of any kind. My job was simple--to hand the doctor his surgical tools from the table & to water the cornea with serine. The procedure went as follows:
a) Patients were screened by a doctor in general consultation & if a cataract was present & the doctor recommended surgery, the patient was sent to the eye-surgeon where I was eagerly standing by to assist…J
b) 1 of the nurses would talk the patient through the procedures to take place & would give them a series of tranquilizers & general anesthetics…it would typically take about 20 or so minutes for this initial set of anesthetics to kick in, so this was being done while the previous patient was in the last stages of surgery…
c) next the patient was led into the operating room where the surgeon himself would massage the patient’s eye while the nurse would prepare the materials to be used during surgery…I asked Dr. Lanre why the massage was being done & was told that the eye is a series of very complex but also very tightly bound muscles…if the eye is not fully relaxed when the initial score is made into the pupil to remove the cataract, the eye’s inner muscles would immediately (as well as irreparably) spill out on the scalpel’s impactful incision…
d) after the 10-15 minute eye-spa was complete, the patient would then be given an intensely localized anesthetic via a serum straight to the eye…this was the first real shock I noticed in each of the village patients that took to the surgeon’s table...No amount of doc’s explanation/reassurance can fully prepare you for a 6-inch needle going straight into your eye.. I’m clearly not a doctor & clearly the needle doesn’t go into the eyeball itself, but rather to an adjacent muscle directly next to the eye…the interesting thing is that while pain has been dulled through the general anesthetic, the patient is still feeling the needle being inserted, as this is the instrument by which the local anesthetic to the eye is being given…you can imagine the occurring reaction...
This only takes a minute or 2 to kick in & within 5 or so minutes of the needle going in, the doctor is ready to create the incision into the eye…
I can still remember the bewilderment in expression on each of the village patients as the clip was put on the eye to hold back the eyelids, as well as when the bright surgical lamp was placed above the eye…(almost as though your human instinct would help you blink back & shut out the light, if only you could)..
What was curious to me was that while the patient’s entire body was sedated (partially) & the eyeball itself fully numbed to any pain, the patient, while avoiding any feeling of the surgical procedure whatsoever, was very much awake during the whole process & could, of course, see the whole operation being done from the fullest “upclose” vantage point…fun.. J J
e) surgeon creates incision into the eyeball
f) special assistant to doctor Lanre, Brian Whyte, performs vital “assistant duties” aka “Serine on the Cornea”; If I live to be a 1000 (not likely) & never see another eye-surgery take place (likely), I’ll never forget the phrase “Serine on the Cornea”…This was in fact the principal reason for my existence in that operating room…while the nurse assisted in the surgical procedures, my job consisted of handing the very sterilized instruments to the doctor with my very sterilized/gloved right-hand, while my left-hand would (& most importantly) every 15 seconds spray the cornea with a solution (whose surgical name I don't remember, but all I remember hearing is "Serine") from the needle I held…The reason nurse would so implicitly remind me to squirt said solution on the patient’s eye was because not only was the natural process of the eye’s hydration through blinking being severely hampered (with a clip holding your eye open), but the surgical lamp with a wattage of God-knows-what was beaming down directly onto the naked eyeball…so if I were to not hydrate the eye with this serine solution, the eye would risk severe burning…I felt quite valuable to the whole procedure in that case…
“Serine on the Cornea indeed, nurse!!…remind me as many times as needed!”…
g) While all this is going on (& this part equally vital to the surgery itself), Dr. Lanre took the time to speak to each patient individually about their souls & their relationship with God…He didn’t miss even 1 chance to share with each one the Good News of God’s Son, Jesus, coming to earth specifically to show His love for them personally (the person on the operating table) & give His life for each of them…It was the most awesome experience watching & listening, as doctor Lanre was removing a lens from their eye, he was also speaking into their Spirit & giving not only physical-sight remedies, but “spiritual-sight” remedies as well…many of the patients had already known Jesus & yet others (in this remote part of Africa) had not yet been granted the joy of hearing the Gospel…these gladly gave their hearts to God in praying with Dr. Lanre to receive Jesus Christ as their personal Savior right there on the operating table…I was impressed with his sense of urgency in this, as we all realized that he most likely would not be seeing them again anytime soon….(Obubra was a ways from Lagos)...
h) the entire lens is popped out & is replaced with a new intraocular lens? At this time, being that this was 12 years ago, certain details of this surgical procedure escape me, but in researching details of a typical cataract removal, it seems the standard procedure is for an intraocular lens or IOL to be inserted into the eye using a small fuse…again, whether or not this was done on each patient at this free health camp in the middle of rural Obubra, Cross River State, is no longer accessible by my mind’s “intraocular lens”…however, I do remember each patient being given a fat pair of “eye-glass” (pidgin English for glasses) right then & there in the operating room after we completed surgery…so I’m guessing they didn’t have a lens put in their now “lensless” eye after the cataract was removed, but rather were given glasses to perform the function of focusing for them…
i) The eye is stitched up with needle & thread…quite literally, accept this thread is called_____(still looking that one up)

j) Post-operative procedures take place i.e. clip taken off the eye, etc., patient is given glasses, surgeon discusses the prescription of painkillers/eye vitamin’s, etc. & patient is then referred back to the optometrist, who gives the patient a more specific prescription “eye-glass” so patient’s vision is as focused as can be made possible without the natural lens (or without laser-surgery)…patient is also given instruction to return to a local general hospital where, several weeks from the time surgery was done at our free health camp, the stiches will be removed...

Tuesday, February 05, 2013

more book..


Another chapter from the soon coming ad 4 life book:

Bible teacher to Bollywood dancer—Kenya, 2001
(This starts in the middle of the story, which is still being edited (the whole thing, not just the middle:P))

…This soon turned to one of the most culturally fascinating experiences of my life. What started as simply an avenue to raise funding for charity would lead me to discovering much of India’s food, culture, history, & best of all music…India’s music is as varied as any musical assortment we enjoy in Western societies…I was to learn about India’s folk, India’s classical music (Carnatic & Hindustani), as well as Indian pop, which in it's biggest form is called filmi, meaning songs from Indian films, making up to 72% of music sales in India…Another hugely popular Indian style of music, which was to become my favorite of all Indian music genres, was (literal drumroll)….Bhangra!!!

Bhangra is the traditional music style of the Punjab area in Northern India…A massive drum called Dhol, stands as the rhythm base of the music…this drum is roughly a meter & a ½ in circumference & is typically played standing, hanging from the drummers neck, with the drumsticks beating on either side…the scales are played in happy conjunction to the quick paced drum on many other instruments including tumbi, sarangi, keyboard, and a variety of other string and percussion instruments. Lyrics to Bhangra songs are usually sung in Chorus, with many voices together, as well as with  occasional shouts in the back to the beat of the music…my description of this raging happiness might sound ridiculous, but all of these go amazingly well together & Banghra is great fun…

Bhangra was further honed & developed in the UK during the 70s/80s & is considered a musical representation of the Punjab & South-Middle Asian peoples of India & Pakistan…

Bhangra is not only a fast/upbeat music-style but is an extremely jubilant, lively dance-style as well. I discovered this with a mixture of joy & tediousness when first attempting these altogether foreign moves.. This would take me some time to master & was a dance further from any dance style I’d ever attempted in my entire life..(!!) The main movements of this dance involve a rhythmic up & down shaking of the shoulders to the drum beat (yes, I mean continuous shaking of the shoulders) with arms held either out in front, or to the sides…foot movements are a rhythmic side-to-side hopping or combination of jumping or stepping in a circle with one foot, while the other foot remains stationary, shoulders shaking the entire time.. Sound confusing? It’s simpler than it sounds..

Bollywood
Of course, all these music styles & more are majorly showcased by India’s film-industry haven, known the world over: BOLLYWOOD….Bollywood is not only the world’s largest film-studio (production-wise), but is also the source of the majority of India’s music called Filmi (or film music)…This was to become the main source of our song selection for the Indian (referred to in East Africa as Asian) portion of our internationally themed dance troupe, AIF (Action in Focus) Dancers…
Bollywood is a complete experience all it’s own & you’ll feel as though you’re entering a new world when you delve into (or, are thrown into, as was the case with me) the illustrious, colorful world of Indian movies…From riveting “action” to sappy love stories, to intensely emotional drama, Bollywood has it all when it comes to film genres, but no matter what the story-line, nearly all Bollywood films have a connecting factor—music!! Lots & lots of music with full MTV style sets included, each song carrying anywhere from several to sometimes hundreds of choreographed dancers are standard Bollywood music fare…
Little did I know at the time as to the full education I would get on Bollywood’s current top-stars, as well as the old legendary classics…Currents at the time (& no doubt, still, with new additions) included Sharuk Khan, Rhithik Roshin & Ashwariya Rai (who, a few short years after I was introduced to her, made a partial Bollywood to Hollywood migration debuting in American films such as, Pink Panther 2 & The Last Legion)….equally HUGE were the Kapoor sisters (Kareena & Karishma), Salman Khan & Katrina Kaif. Classics included Dilip Kumar, Om Puri & the all-famous Amitabh Bachchan..
My personal “brush with Bollywood” occurred when I performed as part of RadioActive dancers with famous Indian pop singer Usha Uthup to her 1980 hit Hari Om Hari at Didi’s World in Kampala, Uganda in 2004…this was for the Indian festival known as (researching)____________ Usha Uthup, who is well known throughout India & East Africa, not only sings pop, but is also known as a jazz artist & playback singer & has also debuted in the latter part of her career as an actress, appearing in several major Indian films.

(Note from wikepedia on Usha’s initial debut in East Africa: Usha visited Nairobi as part of an Indian festival. She was so popular that she was invited to stay on. Singing and quite often nationalistic songs in Swahili made her extremely popular and the then President Jomo Kenyatta made her an Honorary Citizen of Kenya. She sang the famous song "Malaika" (angel) with Fadhili Williams who was the original singer. She produced a record "live in Nairobi" with a local band Fellini Five.)

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

book preview


I'd been promising to post a bit of the book I've been working on...

Over the next couple weeks, I'll be posting a few "pre-edit" chapters/stories of the "book to be"

..see what you think of this one..
 

My Vuvu--FIFA 2010 World Cup, Gauteng, 2010
 
(A vuvuzela is a long, plastic, lightweight, trumpet-shaped instrument that is played with a singular blowing motion…it takes time to master (roughly 4 seconds), but once you get the skill down it’s endless fun…)
Picture in your “mind’s ear”, if you can, a cross between the sounds of a migration of a million geese & Brazilian carnival without music…that pretty accurately depicts the sound of the din of hundreds of thousands of Vuvuzela’s being played in sequence mixed with the excited voices of Africa near the Loftus Versfeld stadium before the game..
Aaaaahhh…The lovely Vuvuzela…the lively/ joyous suggestion behind the audible annoyance…the feeling of celebration…the camaraderie of Africa…the official music maker of the FIFA World Cup 2010…This was to be my new constant companion as I went from program to program, fan park to fan park & game to game…My Vuvu (as I quickly termed it) accompanied me from Diepsloot Squatter Camp to Pretoria High Street & back…& everywhere it made the same lovely sound…a sound so consistent, so celebratory, so large, so….annoying. 
I love it! I hope the fantabulous “Vuzuvela” one day becomes the official hand-held mascot of soccer fans everywhere… Just after the World Cup had finished, I remember when I flew back home to Atlanta via Chicago’s O’Hare international airport, instead of being asked the typical questions whether I was carrying any contraband items, or illegal plant or food particles, I was simply asked by the customs official if I was carrying a Vuvuzela…I responded with an enthusiastic, “Yes! Right here over my shoulder!” He made me promise not to blow it in the airport & with that I was sent on my way…

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

SALLY'S CAR!!!


Everybody! Sally (pictured below) needs help!!...She's actually a personal friend of mine from waaaaaay back in the day when I lived in Kenya...I was part of the team that first met her & put her through our Bible Study course & saw her life turn around & God do amazing things for her...she's been close to my heart ever since...
Below is Sally's request for funding that I read on a TFI (The Family International) bulletin online this morning:
Dear Ones,
I am a Health worker and counselor, helping Aids Patients who live where the poorest of the poor can be found -- in one of East Africa`s largest slum area-- Kibera. Together with FCM (Family Care Mission) members we also run a Feeding Program, which assists the neediest cases. 
I, myself have been battling with colon cancer and have gone through several operations, but the Lord has kept me and healed me from cancer.
Some time ago, I was able to purchase a second hand car, which helps me avoid taking the crowded public transport minibuses, called Matatu`s. Since I have a Colostomy I cannot be in crowded places where people push and bump into me.

Unfortunately my car broke down and needs an engine overhaul, which will cost approx. 400 euro (roughly $540). With my small salary as a Health Worker for an NGO, I have a hard time meeting this unexpected, urgent need and would like to appeal for your help. Any donation towards this repair will assist me greatly to keep going with my work.
God bless you and thanks a lot for considering this request. My login (for fellow TFI members) is: sallie
my e-mail: sallykwenda@yahoo.com

Greetings,
Sally Agallo

I think we can do better than this...by God's grace, we can raise enough funds to actually get her a new car...
I'm arranging an initial gift to be sent to Sally by this time next week via a paypal donation sent through our mission's donation fund...anyone that wants to participate in this awesome cause can either:
a) Send Sally the money directly via TFI's donation fund (if you're also a member)
b) e-mail me asap, or send the money to me via paypal, which I will pass on to her (no, this is not a Nigerian scam)...
c) e-mail Sally directly for alternative donation methods (she may have a paypal account of her own)...
I've e-mailed Sally myself & am waiting to hear if she has a paypal account, in which case, I'll ask for her corresponding e-mail...but I wanted to post this immediately, so that we can all be thinking of/praying for her & getting her donations ready...
Let's do this!!